Sandra Pierson, CCMC Tax Collector for the Town of Orange would like to advise taxpayers of a change in motor vehicle taxes for the coming 2013 Grand List. Motor Vehicle taxes will now be a SINGLE payment and will become due July 1, 2014.

Tax bills are typically mailed the third week in June. Payments on the 2013 Grand List tax bill can not be accepted or processed by the tax office until July 1, 2014 – tax bill information is not loaded into the system.

Your tax town is the town of residency as of October 1, 2013 and/or the town in which your motor vehicle was registered on October 1, 2013. If your vehicle has been sold, and the plates returned to DMV; stolen and not recovered; declared a total loss; or if you have moved from Orange; contact the Assessor for information regarding the acceptable forms of proof for the issuance of a credit.

If you replaced one vehicle with another and used the same license plates, you will receive a pro-rated Supplemental motor vehicle tax bill in December for the new vehicle. However, you must still pay the entire amount due on the old vehicle. If you obtained new license plates for the new vehicle, you must apply for a credit, with the Assessor.

There is no statutory rule concerning the time period covered by real estate tax bills. If you buy or sell real estate, adjustments for real estate taxes will be made by the attorneys who are handling the closing. Care should be taken to ensure taxes are paid, particularly when a closing occurs within sixty days of a tax due date. In your closing paperwork if you do not receive a payment coupon for the next real estate tax installment (July /January) – contact the tax office for a duplicate at 891-2122 ext. 725 or 736.

The annual town referendum is being held on May 20th at High Plains Community Center noon – 8:00 p.m. to set the 2013 Grand List mill rate.

Reminder; the tax collector’s office will close at 10:00 a.m. on June 30, 2014 to close the fiscal year and load the new tax bills; we will have no computer access during this procedure.